“You’re still up?” He swiveled toward her. “Evidently we’re all a bunch of night owls.”
“Who else is up?”
“No one.”
“I’m sure I can guess.”
He didn’t answer.
“Any word on your grants?”
“Not yet. You anxious for me to go?”
“If it’ll save you from falling in love with Reenie.”
“You hate her that much?”
“Not hate.”
“What, then?”
“Where she’s concerned, I feel too many emotions to untangle them.” She leaned against the doorjamb. “Mica really admires her. She was thrilled to hear that Reenie liked her performance.”
“How does Mica feel about Angela?”
“I think she’s as jealous of her as I am of Reenie.”
“Mica’s a very bright girl. What’s there to be jealous of?”
“Angela’s as popular as Reenie is. See the parallel?”
“Mica and Angela each have their own unique talents.”
“Had we all met under different circumstances, I’m sure we wouldn’t have had any trouble.”
Isaac wrote Reenie’s number on a pad of paper, stood and handed it to his sister.
“What’s this?” she asked.
“Call Reenie. Invite her out to lunch.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“I’m not.”
“Why would I do that?”
“Because her dog is dying. And because she’s worth getting to know.”
Liz’s hair fell in front of her face as she stared down at the number he’d written. “She makes me feel…inadequate, Isaac.”
“She made the first move, Liz. Give it a shot. It could be good for Mica and Christopher.” When his sister looked up at him, he grinned. “You’re worth getting to know, too.”
“Her dog is dying?”
“It’s breaking her heart.”
She studied the slip of paper a minute longer. “I’ll think about it,” she said.
THE NEXT MORNING Isaac drove Mica and Christopher to school. Liz had to work earlier than usual because Marge Finley was having knee surgery and wasn’t able to come in.
Christopher climbed out of the truck first. “Thanks,” he said.
“Yeah, thanks.” Mica gave him a peck on the cheek before sliding toward her brother and the open door.
“No problem, guys,” Isaac said.
“Will you be picking us up?” Christopher asked eagerly, craning his head to see around his sister.
Isaac knew the kid wanted to go out for ice cream. A trip to the Arctic Flyer had become standard operating procedure when Isaac picked them up from school. “Sorry, bud, I’ll be at the feed store until dinnertime.”
“I thought you were quitting that job,” Mica said.
“Today’s my last day, although I’ve agreed to help now and then.”
“Maybe Mom will take us out for a treat,” Christopher said to Mica.
“She thinks we eat too much sugar already,” Mica grumbled.
They slammed the door and Isaac nearly pulled away. He would have, except something caught his attention. Angela and Isabella were standing under the big oak tree near the front entrance to the school, and they appeared to be waiting for Mica. At least they were watching her pretty intently.
Halfway to the tree and her two half sisters, Mica’s footsteps slowed and she glanced back at him. Isaac got the distinct impression she didn’t want him to see her meet up with Reenie’s girls. So he quickly looked down, as though he was fiddling with the radio. When he checked again, Mica and Angela had their heads bent close together and were talking and smiling. Eventually, they walked off together, leaving Isabella to tag along behind.
The person in the car behind Isaac tapped her horn. He was holding up traffic. Pulling out of line, he rolled down his window.
“Isabella!”
She turned, then smiled broadly when she recognized him. He waved her over to the truck. Letting Mica and Angela, who seemed to be in their own little world anyway, go on without her, she skipped toward him.
“Hi!” she said, trying to see him by hanging on to the window opening and standing on tiptoe.
He reached across the seat to open the door.
“You drove Mica and Christopher to school today?” she asked, slipping inside.
“Yep.”
“Where’s their mom?”
“Working at the grocery store.”
“Oh.”
He looked around the playground but could no longer spot Mica and Angela. “What are Mica and Angela doing?” he asked.
She shrugged. “I don’t know. Probably playing on the monkey bars. They always do that.”
“Every morning?”
“And at recess.”
Interesting, Isaac thought. Mica never mentioned Reenie’s girls. Certainly she hadn’t told him or Liz that they played together at school. “How’s your mom doing today?” he asked.
“Okay, I guess. She’s a little sad.”
“Why?”
“Because Bailey’s not feeling good. He’s too old. Mom told us the vet’s going to put him to sleep today. And he won’t wake up,” she added.
“Did you say goodbye to him?” he asked.
She nodded.
“I’m sorry you had to do that.”
Big tears filled her blue eyes, eyes that reminded Isaac so much of Reenie’s. “I’m going to miss him.”
“So is your mother, sweetie.”
She sniffed and nodded, and he reached out to squeeze her little hand. “It’ll be okay. I know it hurts, but sometimes we have to say goodbye to animals and even people we love. It’s part of life.”
“I know,” she said. “We’re going to have a funeral for him tonight and bury him by the barn so he’ll still be close to us.”
“That’s a good idea.”
The bell rang. Wiping her eyes, she offered him a final watery smile. “I gotta go.”
“Bye,” he said, and watched her run safely to class. He started off toward the feed store, but when he was only halfway there, he stopped at the Arctic Flyer so he could use the payphone to call Earl. Then he headed to Boise.
REENIE PULLED into her driveway, put the transmission in Park and turned off the engine. She hadn’t wanted to go to the vet alone, but she hadn’t wanted any of her children to have to suffer through the experience, either. So she’d picked up her mother and her half sister earlier.